Skill Unlock
by Zadred212
Summary: People know him as Raven, the Blade Master. A peerless swordman with blinding fast slashes. This is the story prior. This is his path. (possibly OOC-ness, contains self-intepretation. Criticism is welcomed)


Disclaimer: I don't own Elsword. 

[SKILL UNLOCK]

For reference purpose:  
Skill tree:  
Lv15: Sonic Slash (active); Berserker Blade (special active); Rapid Slash (passive)  
Lv25: Finishing Slash (active)  
Lv30: Cut Tendon (active)  
Lv35: Eye of the Sword (special active); Cutthroat (active); Seathe/Draw (active); Momentum (passive)  
Lv40: Exquisite Swordmanship (passive)  
Lv45: Bloody Accel (special active); Hypersonic Stab (special active)  
Lv50: Giga Drive (special active)  
Lv55: Shockwave (special active)  
Lv60: Evacuation (passive); Precision (passive)

This skill tree diverges from BM's skill tree in Elsword because it is based on my interpretation of him and may be subjected to changes in future. Some unfamiliar skills will be explained when they appear in story.

Now, the story itself:

Arc 1: [Berserker Blade]

PART 1

A week after accepting to help the El Search Party, the ex-mercenary known as Raven came to realize a single, yet devastating truth.

He had always been too weak, too weak to do anything.

Elsword was strong. He could crush his enemies under the deceptively sharp edge of his blade, the two-handed sword tearing through Nasod steel plates with little difficulty, at the same time smashing the Nasod soldiers underneath its heavy strikes.

Aisha was strong. The petite mage was a prodigy in the art of magic, manipulating the elements to do her biddings. The sight of elemental storms, of frost and flame and thunder assaulting the enemies with a wave of her staff was both mesmerizing and intimidating in its own right.

Rena was strong. While her magic was not as flashy as Aisha's, she made up for it by using it in conjunction with her own skill. The elven warrior fought like a dancer, waltzing gracefully between enemies as she released the arrows woven with threads of magic with near-inhuman precision, each shot piercing through metallic plates with casual ease.

But Raven himself couldn't get past the Nasod armor with his sword. The steel which had bent and broke so easily under Elsword's blade wouldn't even budge when the sharp edge of his sword smashed against it, forcing him to leap aside to evade the following counterattack.

It was frustrating. And it hurt. It hurt to know that he was so useless.

Emotional pain transformed to anger. The accursed arm attached to his left shoulder had latched on his emotion and used it to try and take away his will. He felt his control began to slip. His instinct, amplified by the twisted…thing (he refused to dignify it with a proper name), screamed at him to give in to it, to destroy, to kill, to maim.

"No…like hell I would!"

He refused to do its bidding. He refused to surrender to its will.

And yet, when his eyes, which had shut tight without him noticing, opened again, the first thing he noticed was his- no, was the **thing resembling an arm** clenching tightly its fingers-like appendages, broken remains of a Nasod scout in its grasp.

Through the history of Elrios, the elven race, despite bearing many similarities to human, is noted to have two clear distinctions, which distinguish them from the human race: Their abnormally long ears, at least when comparing to a human, and their inherent ability to sympathize with the formless entities called 'Nature Spirit', which, while having been claimed to be 'the expressions of nature' by the elves, are still beyond the understanding of most race living in Elrios. There are skepticism by human scientists that the elven race were merely bluffing about the existence of those 'Nature Spirit', but the fact that their race have a deeper connection with the world and nature than most was irrefutable.

And it was thank to it that Rena instantly became awake at the sounds of footstep, the wind whispering into her ears about the possible threat outside of her tent. With the silence and grace that came from countless years of training, the elven archer slid to the door of her tent, the grass obediently parted under her feet, an arrow on the verge of forming on her free hand. She crouched low near the flaps covering the entrance of her tent, waited, and, when the sound of footsteps had gotten sufficiently far enough, she bursted out, the slight flapping of opened tent not registering in her mind as she nocked an arrow, the pull of tense bowstring unbearably heavy as she set eyes on the potential enemy-

"Raven?"

A couple steps away from her, eyes opened wide in alert and surprise and curved sword poised with with the intention to strike, was Raven. Halting his charge abruptly upon realizing who it was, the black-haired man stumbled before quickly regained his footing. Even though there were still traces of sleep on his face, the slight bleariness of his eyes being the most evident, the ex-mercenary had already covered more than half of the distance between them in a blink of an eye, an impressive feat which showed the level of caution and reflex he possessed, noted Rena silently.

Still, the little incident had made the atmosphere tense. Man and elf stood silently, with neither dared to speak up, in fear of worsening the situation. They glanced away from each other, fidgeting nervously to themselves, words which should be spoken were stuck in their throat.

The campfire crackled silently, illuminating the moonless night.

It took quite some time for the uncomfortable silence to be broken. No longer had the ability to stand the tense atmosphere, Raven caved in and spoke up, hoping to dispel the awkwardness between them.

"Rena, you, uh, you okay?"

...inside, he was facepalming. Good going Raven, you had one job.

"I'm, I'm fine."

Rena stuttered slightly. It seemed that the green-haired elf was as uncomfortable as him but also didn't know what to say in response to his question. Her eyes, pale green with a slight shade of yellow, shifted to him for a second before darting away again.

Silence descended upon the pair once more.

"..."

"..."

He was wasting time here, Raven suddenly realized. Wasting time he could spend to get stronger, to finally take control of his fate. There was no time for small pleasantries like this-

"Raven? What's wrong?"

Unknown to him, but clear as day to Rena, his eyes, a shade of metallic gold that **should not exist** on a normal human, narrowed harshly, as his expression tightened in...something that she couldn't decipher. Worried for the newest member of the El Search Party, she had spoken up.

Cutting off his current train of thought, Raven shook his head in assurance. To himself or to her, he didn't know.

"I'm...fine."

There was a slight pause between two syllables. It was barely perceptible, and even Rena's keen sense as an elite warrior wouldn't have pick it up had it not for the whisper of the wind telling her.

But she didn't call Raven out on it. She understood that everyone has a secret and respected that fact. But she would wait for the day he could open his heart to them.

"What are you going to do?"

But she didn't trust Raven. Not yet. Not after witnessing him **nearly killing Elsword**. And she knew Raven also didn't trust her or anyone in the group. It was a mutual understanding between them. That was why she asked, because, even with distrust branded in their heart, the 2 young members of the El Search Party were naive and inexperienced. They were still sleeping soundly in their respective tent, unaware of Raven having woken up and **possibly assassinating them.**

"Training. Nothing else."

It was his only answer before he seathed his sword and went away from the camp. Rena followed.


End file.
